Thursday, December 31, 2009

Tonight is the long awaited Sasuke 24! While I wait for the time to tick down I spent time looking at blogs and whatnot. I found something interesting! For those who remember Maho Tanaka 田中真帆 from Kunoichi fame, she has her own website and blog. She had 3 separate entries for the same event - The 3 year anniversary for Muscle Park on December 20, 2009 (yes the same day of Nagano/Takeda visit that I blogged about earlier). I adore the top pic the best for various reasons. Shows Maho and her friends goofing off posing with Nagano and Takeda. Takeda looks like he needs a nap.. and has the same male syndrome of constantly protecting their privates in pictures.. wtf.. can they not pose any differently? Meanwhile.. you have Nagano living it up and waving his fist in the air TOTALLY representin'! What'up ya'll!

Takeda must have stolen his son's jacket (lol thanks Holly) since it's so small looking on him :) Meanwhile.. doesn't he look like he needs a nap? I see Nagano just got his hair dyed. So this is what they will looking like during Sportsman #1! I believe (I could be wrong on this) that the taping was the day after this. Oh mental note on that.. the show will air on January 7th!! Maho looks cute though :) She definitely is photogenic!

This part I laughed about. Apparently they asked for female volunteers and she was uhm.. volunteered. She looks horrified! Meanwhile you see Takeda flashing the evil grin.. he knew what he was doing.. I'm happy she beat him though! :D

Monday, December 28, 2009

(P.S. A gazillion thanks to Lost in Ube for the massive help on names and general Japanese translations :D)

Lord help us all there's going to be a big Yamada fluff piece isn't there? but.. he's not training anyone.. just himself this time?

It's that time again! This is Sasuke Navi - which is a 1 hour special promoting Sasuke 24 which airs just under 6 hours (yes.. you read that right) all on New Year's Day just 4 days away!. (see the airdate page for times in your area) Previous Sasuke Navi's can always be found on my site (Sasuke Navi 23, Sasuke Navi 22 and Sasuke Navi 21) First major gripe.. TVAnts was NOT STREAMING TBS again but thanks to a few fans willing to help stream paid service (WIST) it was at least viewable this time unlike the Sasuke 23 disaster from September where a lot of people couldn't see the tournament live. We do hope more people are just as generous on New Year's Day or we might have a repeat of 23's epic disaster (viewing wise).

Here in the USA we were actually pretty lucky to see Sasuke Navi at a reasonable time on a weekend day.. though in Japan this sucker was running at 11 am their time.. on a Monday morning.. when people were at work.. LOL oh well.. It was 9 pm here in the east coast so I was pretty darn stoked! (shoosh Arty.. Sasuke 24 is at like friggin 2 am on Friday.. no complaints whippersnapper!)

Who will be the 3rd man to win!? (yes.. that's what it says.. more or less)

Of course ever since TBS posted their video trailer of 24 online over the weekend, everyone and their mother and grandma have been speculating as to whether or not they are confirming an actual win.. but we do know for sure.. there will be another final. That's enough for me. I have the patience to wait to see who gets there. TBS has bricked us before by showing us "tester" footage so I don't want to fall for it again so I'm utterly ignoring the footage. NO ORANGE PANTS FOR ME! :D

Sasuke.. that's about all I can make out :) WHOOT!! Bring it!

Anyway the show starts with a bunch of images that I'll be showing later.. this blog is already besieged with pics.. so I'll spare ya :p You know the usual.. preview of what you are going to see in Navi and a few Sasuke 24 spoilers with big print over it so you don't exactly get to see who and what is going on. Since the pics aren't HQ and I really don't care to psychoanalyze every detail.. I'll leave it to the maniacs to freak out with the footage for 4 days :p Oh btw.. they rehashed the All-Stars vs. Scrubs er.. uhm.. New Stars theme... again.. Despite Nagano's objection to that concept.

Registration line!! Because even the famous have to stand in line in the cold!

Next is the familiar stroll to the camera shots of the featured contestants to Sasuke. I always crack up at these pictures.. as if everyone has a grand entrance like that .. from their cars.. LOL Oh well .. it's the image so hey I'll go with it. Again.. since a lot of this repeats I'll spare you the walking shots until they have fluff pieces immediately after.

Well I guess looking at them train.. er.. choreography is better than watching their manager talk for 20 minutes about their new album...

Throw out your hands.. stick out your tush.. hands on your hips.. give them a push.. you'll be surprised you're doing the French mistake.. VOILA!! (20 points if you figure out the reference...)

YAY! Nagano! (LOL seems this segment is all Pirates of the Caribbean music :p )

Takeda training the wall (finally)

Yamada finally training again...

ZOMG FINAL ZOMG...

More commercials.. oh.. cross bridge is back.. oh that's totally going to suck for a lot of people..

Aww crap.. Takeda and Nagano having kittens over someone's loss....

Yuuji making dogs wail again...

Salmon Ladder still kicking ass... LOL

Hmm and so is the Unstable Bridge.. (strange angle.. they must have redesigned where this is).. and where are my sharks with friggin' lasers? I thought they'd paint this sucker red and black and have spikes on it.. ehem...

Ooooooooh that sucks.. who was the poor soul that fell off the green bar of safety right before the Gliding Ring? Wow.. I hope it was a tester and TBS being mean.. because if it was a competitor.. that had to hurt ..

Makoto Nagano 長野誠 (LMFAO they keep giving Nagano clothes.. I think they got tired of me bitching that the man has no clothes and keep wearing the same ones.. ahahahahah) (P.S. Take a drink.. Move Sport is Descente..)

Hang on.. need a moment.. you know.. it's greatness.. must stop for that..

Nagano without his summer tan :) Mwahahhaha ehem.. (he's also between hair dyes here..) ahahah you see him fidgeting with his shirt? Uhm.. Dude.. this is yours.. we can't help you if you like your clothes applied via spraycan..

Seems the trainer in the facility is giving him tips as to what went wrong..(LOL Ube: He gets some help from a kindly old man, not unlike a sifu in a kung-fu movie. Later, he will die and Toshihiro will have to avenge his death.)

He wants him to put more spring in his climb.

Like bending your knees before jumping.

Seems to be working

He gets all the way to the top easier now!

Hello!!

He's beside himself with joy :)

I did it!!! I did it!!

Now he's cocky and wants to try everything... (LOL they cracked out the Pearl Harbor music for this) Seems all the All-Stars are getting 2 theme songs these days

Hey Ube he still has "some" bling :p

I'm still not as fast as Nagano.. that blows.. (LMAO at the channeling Elvis talking again)

Sasuke 24 is the year of family! He finally unchains his wife from the basement and even brought the rest of the family! LOL

That's Reiya in the middle, wife Miyako (I think) and Reio (who's totally doing a Shingo and messing up the moment by spazzing out)

Dude.. I'm totally going to let your Mom whip you.. she's closer..

Ha! Ha! He's getting in trouble!! My Dad is cool :)

The family walks into the sunset.. while Reio = "Oh look.. KITTY".. No wait.. I found something better.. I WANNA EASTA EGG!

GASOLINE STANDO.. and I hear revolting chickens again.. must be Shingo time!

LOVE HANDLE CAM™ (ouch.. that looks like that hurt.. wtf did he do to himself?)

TBS reminding you of the #1 famous Katsumi Yamada quote "Sasuke is everything to me"

Reliving the 10 years of suckitude.. one of the more painful ones Sasuke 15's inexplicable fall off the landing area after the cross bridge

Followed by the time up just a couple feet from the end of Sasuke 16's stage 1

One of the many Jumping Spider fails.. this one from Sasuke 22

Seems Yamada promoting Muscle Musical is out to train himself this time

Cool shot from the lake..

er.. he's going up the mountain..

.. and promptly running out of gas..

Seems like some time has elapsed and he's now no longer promoting Muscle Musical

And doing a Rocky run up the hill

Standing triumphant above the world

Man TBS loves being all dramatic.. LOL

December 4th.. he's dropped 12.55 pounds to 155.22 lbs and lost 4% in body fat

LOVE HANDLE CAM™

LOVE HANDLE CAM™

Hmm.. why does he look emaciated?

Oh btw.. he did confirm in his interview that he is serious.. if he fails Stage 1 again he will be true to his word and will retire.. oh boy.. cracking out popcorn.. WILL HE OR WON'T HE? If he does.. TBS will be merciless.. you can count on that.. If he does pass first stage they will make an epic of that too!

Now for the scrubs.. er.. New Stars :p LOL j/k I love these guys

P.S... (Ube: Enough of the old people. Wait, where's Kazuhiko Akiyama 秋山和彦? Too expensive to send a crew to Hokkaido I guess?) Uhm.. yeah.. I totally agree.. I wish we could actually see a fluff piece with him again.. C'mon.. he's now got blond hair.. that has to count for something!!

Btw.. it seems Kanno is taken by Yamada.. now he's taken up the mantle in wanting to not get a real job until he gets kanzen seiha.. Rider.. I'm borrowing you for a sec.. bare with me.. THIRD-PARTY FACEPALM!! Wtf.. dude.. you are how old and you are changing your life for a friggin' game show???? /sigh..

And likes to display his 2 best sadlecloths.. the one from Sasuke 20 is on the corkboard along with his various Sasuke Trial saddlecloths.

Meanwhile.. Scrub #2.. j/k :p is Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 who got so pwned on the Unstable Bridge in Sasuke 23 it was painful to watch :(

He said he believes he needs to work on his balance so he is using the new sport in Europe that uses a "slackline" to practice (thanks Ube) wait.. THIS ISN'T new..

Dude.. this is so old.. when I was a kid.. we used to call these things tightropes!!

Bah.. Stupid wiki is telling me that it's not the same thing as tightroping.. BITE ME!!!

Okay.. let's simulate being outside.. in the dark.. in the middle of winter.. trying to grab a small ledge with our fingers freezing .. and tired.. Voila.. stick your hands in water for 10 seconds.. THEN Try the obstacle.